No Ordinary Girl
by SaphireShadows
Summary: Sarah has returned home from the Underground, but things have changed forever. What happens when her "certain powers", powers that she hardly understands herself, are coveted by kingdoms throughout the Fae world? Rated M for later chapters.
1. A KingSized Tantrum

Chapter 1: Throwing a Tantrum

"HOW?" Jareth yelled as he stormed through the throne room. It had been only a few hours since the girl had left the Underground as the only victorious runner of the Labyrinth. The Goblin King had returned the girl and the babe to their home not an hour before, and had watched as the girl and her friends from the Underground celebrated her victory. Growling, the king kicked at a nearby goblin, who yelled in panic as he hurtled out a nearby window. The remaining goblins took no time in skittering away from their distressed – and thoroughly pissed off – king. "How did she best the Labyrinth? MY Labyrinth? She should have given up before she even started. She should have buckled under my offers…" Jareth stopped pacing and slumped down onto his throne, putting his head in his hands. He replayed the last moments in the Escher room, trying to figure out why she had rejected his offers. 'I told her I would grant her every wish,' the king thought, 'Didn't she know what I was trying to say? She could have wished the babe back Aboveground. She could have stayed. She should have known I would never have actually turned him into a goblin. The only reason I took him was because she wished it.'

"I did everything for her!" He yelled in anguish to the now empty throne room. His heart still ached from the last words she had spoken to him.

'_You have no power over me.'_

The thought of her rejection to his advances made the pit of his stomach fall out in despair. The pain that rose in his chest made his next words come out in only a whisper. "How can six little words hurt so much? How could she not know what I was trying to say?"

"She is too young to understand, and your explanation was too vague," a voice said. Jareth lifted his head from his hands to see a beautiful woman before him. She was dressed in a flowing gown of white, her long, curly strawberry-blonde tresses falling well past her lower back. Her eyes were mismatched, her left eye ice blue, the right eye cerulean, but they still had the ability to look right through you. Queen Titania, High Queen of the Underground, stared down the Goblin King.

"Mother," Jareth stated as the queen walked over to him. Titania waved her hand dismissively as her son began to bow to her.

"Must we observe such formalities in private, my son?" she asked. Jareth grinned at his mother, but sobered quickly when he saw the look on her face. "You have some explaining to do," she said, tapping her slippered foot.

"I thought…" Jareth started, but Titania interrupted him.

"You thought that by taking the babe; by hindering the girl in her run of the Labyrinth; by explaining your intentions after you tricked her, that she would fall into your arms and forget about her life Aboveground? Really, Jareth, you should know better." Titania chastised her son as she had centuries before when he was but a babe himself. Her motherly tone still had an effect on him, as he hung his head in shame. "You cannot possibly think that you could claim her for yourself? She has a will that is far stronger than any mortal I have seen."

Becoming angry again, Jareth continued his stalk around the throne room. He turned back to his mother, a look of frustration in his mismatched eyes. "Why can't I? I am the Goblin King! All I would have to do is hold out my hand and she-"

"Would run the other way," Titania stated matter-of-factly, "Don't you understand? She will only return if it is of her own free will. You cannot persuade her to come back."

The frustrated Goblin King suddenly glanced back at his mother and saw a knowing twinkle in her eye. "You have seen something, haven't you mother? You know what's to happen." He grinned from ear to ear, hoping that the news would be of her.

Titania hesitated. It wasn't her place to tell her son of his future, but it was the least she could do to ease his pain. "The girl will return," she said, then held up her hand as her son tried to speak. "But," she said, "she will only return of her own free will. You cannot trick, or persuade, or magic her into returning," Titania took pity on her son as she saw his features twist in anguish. "However," she said, "Once she returns, she just might give you a chance. You will have to prove to her that you are trustworthy, which will be no easy task." She grinned at her son, which annoyed him greatly, and said, "Please, try not to screw your chances up again." She chuckled a little, but then sobered and frowned as she stared out the dilapidated window of the throne room.

Jareth watched his mother intently. He had a feeling that she was not telling him the whole of her vision. "Is there anything more you wish to tell me, mother?" he pressed, trying not to sound too desperate for information. Titania merely shook her head, her hair bouncing around her shoulders, and grinned. "Then I believe you should return to Avalon. I have many things to do today, and I'm afraid most of them are painfully dull."

Titania smiled warmly at her son, then went and kissed him on the cheek. "As you wish," she said, and suddenly disappeared in a cloud of gold glitter. When he was certain his mother was gone, Jareth slumped back onto his throne, mulling over what had just been revealed to him. How long would he have to wait for her to come back? He waved his hand, and a crystal suddenly appeared in his grasp. He stared into it intently as the vision of a bedroom came into view. She was there, hugging her friends goodbye as they disappeared one by one back to the Underground. A moment of envy came over the Goblin King as he watched her embrace each one. He imagined himself there, holding her as if she was more precious to him than air. The thought made his heart do weird flip-flops in his chest.

"Please," he whispered to the crystal, hoping beyond hope that his words would reach the girl inside it somehow, "Please come back to me soon. My Sarah."

_Meanwhile…_

Queen Titania stood in her office at Avalon castle, bent over a pool of crystal clear water. Her heart ached as she watched her son, pining for the girl that he wouldn't be able to speak with for many years. She also felt a pang of guilt, as she had, in fact, not told her son all that she had seen of the future. "Oh, my son, the day she returns will be a dark one indeed. The future that I have seen has already been put into motion, and I fear there is no way to change it. Her return will be the start of pain and misery for you both, and I fear what is to come." She gently touched the pool of water with her delicate finger, a small ripple forming at her touch. As the ripple fanned out, the scene changed from her son to the small bedroom of Sarah Williams. She had changed out of the clothing she had worn in the Underground into comfortable nightclothes, and was just climbing into bed. Titania smiled at the child as she drifted off to sleep. "What a mystery you are, Sarah Williams," the queen said, watching as the girl began to dream of the Underground. "Your Fate is complexly intertwined to the Fate of the Underground, yet you only spent a short time wandering its hills. You have power that you could not even imagine, power enough to garner the attention of many here." The queen furrowed her brow as she thought of her vision. "You will have to protect her well, my son. Others will try to take her slumbering power, even before she returns here. She will need you more than ever now." She watched as the girl's dream went from her memory of her journey, to her friends, to something that surprised even Titania. She watched as Sarah dreamed of the broken Escher room, and her battle with Jareth. She felt Sarah become confused, angry, panicked, and then…regretful? Titania stood staring as Sarah struggled in her bed, a single tear dripping down her cheek. She waved her hand, and the image of Sarah disappeared. The queen stood for a moment, trying to figure out this young woman. "What a strange mortal you are, Sarah," she murmured, then smiled fondly, "One thing is certain: you are no ordinary girl."

Yes, yes, I know I've submitted this once already, but I improved it a bit. The first chapter does not give as much away and-

Jareth: Oh, do get on with it. I want to read what happens next!

UGH...Fine, your royal tightness...


	2. Six Years Later

Chapter 2: Six Years Later

"_Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City," Sarah recited as she stepped fearlessly toward the blonde haired man. _

_His eyes flashed dangerously as he said, "Sarah, beware. I have been generous up until now, but I can be cruel."_

"_Generous?" she asked incredulously, cocking her head in mock confusion, "What have you done that's generous?"_

"_Everything!" he barked. Sarah could have sworn that she heard a hint of desperation in his voice. "Everything you have asked for, I have done. You asked that the baby be taken, I took him. You cowered before me, I was frightening. I have reordered time; I have turned the world upside down all for you." Sarah's breath caught in her throat as the man drew closer to her. "I'm exhausted trying to live up to your expectations of me. Isn't that generous?" he asked. Sarah saw for the first time the dark circles under his eyes_

'_Did I cause those?' she asked herself, barely holding back the urge to gently stroke his cheek. She shook the thought from her mind and continued her lines, "To take back the child that you have stolen. For my will is as strong as yours, and my kingdom as gr-"_

"_Stop! Wait…" the man said as he conjured a crystal from midair, "Look Sarah. Look at what I'm offering you. Your dreams…" Sarah looked curiously at the crystal, seeing a glimpse of what was inside it. It was her, but not on stage, nor accepting an award. She was in the embrace of this man, sighing and leaning up for a kiss. Sarah's heart flipped in her chest, but her head screamed out the need to save her baby brother. _

"_My kingdom as great… Damn! I can never remember that line," she said to herself. She looked up into the man's face, and saw a glimmer of emotion hidden in his mismatched eyes. Hope? She couldn't tell._

"_I ask for so little," he said, stepping backwards as Sarah advanced on him. He had to keep her from finishing the spell. "Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your _slave._" He was almost begging with her now. Sarah stopped her advance and thought. What was he trying to tell her? Could he actually…? She looked into his eyes, trying to discern his thoughts. She was about to say yes, but a voice in the back of her mind stopped her._

'_So you'd really sacrifice your brother just so you could get what _you_ want?' the voice in the back of her mind sneered. Sarah shook her head then turned back to the handsome man before her. With tears in her eyes, she uttered the final line of the spell._

"_You have no power over me…"_

_Sarah regretted the words the second they left her lips, as she watched the man's heart break into a million pieces. What he didn't know though, was that her heart had broken into just as many pieces as his, if not more. She watched in agony as he threw the crystal up into the air. She tried to catch it, but the beautiful thing popped like a soapy bubble the second it touched her fingertips. Sarah watched in horror as the man fell into darkness, his eyes boring into her soul even as he was swallowed up by it._

"_JARETH!" she screamed into the darkness. The echoes of her screams turned into bells ringing in her ears as she too fell into total black…_

_Brrring! Brrring!_

"Mmmmrffff…"

_Brrring! Brring!_

"Mmmh, noooooo…"

_BRRRING! BRRRING!_

Sarah about fell out of her queen sized four-poster bed as she tried to pick up the phone. She couldn't for the life of her figure out who would be calling her at eight in the morning on a Saturday. "Hello?" she asked groggily into the phone, smoothing her unruly black hair back. She hoped that it was a telemarketer so she could hang up on them and go back to sleep.

"Sarah! You're not up yet?" a voice whined in the receiver. Sarah blinked her grey eyes owlishly. She smiled as she recognized her little brother's voice.

"Nah buddy, today's my day off, remember?" she asked as she made herself wake up more to talk to the six-year-old. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she felt that she was forgetting something.

Toby didn't give her long to wonder. "You promised to take me to the zoo today, remember? Did you forget or something?" He sounded sad, which made Sarah feel so guilty.

"Oh no Toby, I'm sorry," she said as she hopped out of bed. Thankful for her new cordless phone, she rushed to her closet and proceeded to pick out an outfit. It had only been a few months since she had moved out of her parents' house, but to Toby it felt like forever since he had seen his older sister. "I'll be there in a half an hour to pick you up, okay?" Sarah asked as she chose a pair of dark bell bottom jeans and a bright red sweater. It was the middle of November, and a light snow had already graced Sarah's hometown, so instead of her now usual pair of heels she chose a pair of heavy, fluffy socks and some boots.

Toby sighed into the receiver. "Okay," he said, "but if you're any later, you have to buy me ice cream when we get to the zoo!"

Sarah chuckled as she pulled on her sweater. "Alright big guy, it's a deal. I'll see you soon. Love you." After Toby repeated the statement to her, she hung up the phone and ran to the bathroom, quickly brushing her teeth and combing her long, dark hair. Fifteen minutes later and Sarah was hopping into her car. She turned the key in the ignition and shoved the gear shift into reverse. When she was safely out of her apartment parking spot, she turned on her radio and sped away towards her childhood home. The song that had been playing faded out as she pulled up to a stoplight. "And that was "Total Eclipse of the Heart" for Greg," a man on the radio said, "Now here's another song, for a lady this time. The man that requested this song hung up after he put in his request, but he did leave a note. It says, "To my Sarah. My only love. From, 'J'. Well, someone seems to have fallen hard for this Sarah girl. She must be a special someone for this guy to spill his heart out on the radio! Well Sarah, I hope you enjoy the song!" Sarah froze. A small chill ran up her spine as she thought. What an odd coincidence that the person who put in the request's name started with J, and was meant for some Sarah. She shook her head. After all, Sarah was quite a popular name. The song began to play, and that was when Sarah lost all track of where she was. It was the same song that Jareth had sung to her when they had danced in that crystal ballroom he had made for her all those years ago. She could feel the warm sting of tears as she listened to the lyrics. She hadn't understood what they'd meant before, but she knew this was the very same song. But it couldn't have been. As soon as she thought this, the song changed, and it was like it had never graced the radio waves. Besides, she hadn't seen hide nor feather of the Goblin King since she'd returned from the Underground. Another sign that he hadn't really meant what he'd said in the Escher room. She furrowed her eyebrows angrily. "It's just your imagination, Sarah," she told herself, "Just some song that sounds like it. No need to get worked up over it."

_Don't take anything for granted Sarah, _a voice in the back of her mind echoed.

A honk from a car behind her snapped her out of her thoughts. The light had turned green, so she hastily stomped on the gas pedal and sped her way through the intersection. Making sure to still keep an eye on the road, Sarah again turned her thoughts to the Underground. It had been two years since she had seen her friends. Not that she hadn't tried to call them, oh no. They had failed to show up when she had called. For many days after that she had tried to call them, but every time she ended up disappointed. Had they forgotten her? Or had something happened to them? A feeling in the pit of her stomach had been telling her for a while that all was not right in the Underground, but she didn't know what to do. She didn't even know how to get back to the Underground to check on her friends, much less how to get back when she was satisfied.

'_You could ask Jareth for help',_ the voice in the back of her mind snickered.

"Oh no, no I will not talk to that egotistical, arrogant, lying, cheating…"

'_Handsome, witty, sexy…' _the voice went on.

Sarah shook her head to clear her mind. Under no circumstances would she sink so low as to ask him for help. She turned her car into the driveway of a blue Victorian style house, with a small boy waiting excitedly on the front porch. Sarah twisted the keys out of the ignition and opened her door, only to be tackled by her younger brother. "I missed you Sarah!" Toby cried happily as he hugged his sister's waist. She smiled down at him and smoothed out his unruly blonde hair.

"Sarah?" a voice from the doorway asked. Sarah looked up to see her step mother Karen walking toward her, smiling a friendly hello. It had been years since Sarah had thought of Karen as the wicked stepmother of a fairytale_. _After her trip to the Underground she had come to understand that her stepmother had only wanted to be close to her. They had formed a closer bond after her adventure, and Sarah was thankful for that. So close, actually, that she felt Karen to be more than a step mother now. "Welcome home Sarah," Karen said as they embraced.

"Hello? I can't breathe!" a voice from in between them said. The two women giggled as Toby squeezed out from in between them. He huffed at both of them and said, "So are we going to the zoo or not Sarah?"

Sarah grinned at him and said, "Of course Toby. Just let me say hi to Daddy and we'll be on our way."

"I'm afraid your father isn't home right now Sarah," Karen told her apologetically, "He went out on an errand earlier and hasn't returned. You'll probably see him when you bring Toby back though." Sarah was disappointed that her father was out, but she nodded to her stepmother, took Toby by the hand, and walked back to the car.

Toby yammered on about what he was going to do at the zoo while Sarah concentrated on the road. It was a cloudy day, and she could swear she could smell the hint of another snowfall on the wind. Her thoughts wandered as she pulled out onto the highway; thoughts of what the Underground would look like covered in snow. Its brown and orange hills covered with a blanket of clean white snow, the Labyrinth slumbering under Winter's cold hand. The Castle beyond the Goblin City, with its towers and walls covered in a regal cloak of white. The King of the Goblins sitting in his private quarters near a warm fire. Eyes inviting; his smile warm…

"Sarah, watch out!" Toby shouted. Sarah swerved back into her own lane as a car whizzed past, honking angrily. She gasped raggedly as she tried to get control of her nerves.

'_Okay Sarah, no more distractions of the Underground for you,' _she thought to herself as she concentrated hard on the road. After fifteen more minutes of tense silence, Sarah parked her car in the zoo parking lot. She couldn't stop shaking as she opened her car door, pausing for a few moments as Toby let himself out on the other side.

"What was that about?" Toby asked his older sister as she made sure the car was locked. Sarah could see he was still a bit frightened and more than a bit concerned for his sister.

She frowned into the cool autumn air and said, "I'm sorry Toby, I just got distracted for a second. I'm sorry I scared you…"

"It's okay Sarah. Come on! Let's go before all the animals decide to hide!" the little blonde boy exclaimed as he took hold of his sister's hand and half-dragged her to the entrance. Sarah however was preoccupied again. Had she seen an owl on the edge of her vision before she had swerved into the other lane? She shook her head. No, she had just imagined it. Besides, even if she had seen an owl, it didn't mean anything. Not every owl was him, she reasoned with herself. She pushed these thoughts to the back of her mind as she paid the entry fee to the zoo for Toby and herself. She didn't know why, but something did not feel right. A knot of apprehension and dread had started to form in her stomach, which had only happened once before when Toby had fallen into a ditch and broken his ankle last year. What frustrated her though was that she wouldn't know what was wrong until the events started to unfold. Sighing, Sarah took hold of her little brother's hand and led him through the turnstile and into the zoo.

_Nothing is ever as it seems,_ the voice in the back of her mind echoed warningly.

_Meanwhile…_

A grey hawk perched above the zoo parking lot, searching the ground below. But what it was searching for was no ordinary hawk prey. No, what it was looking for was a young woman with long black hair and perfectly silver eyes. It grinned – as well as a hawk could grin – as it spotted her. It had been waiting for a chance like this to put its plans into action. With a chuckle that was more human sounding than it should have been, the hawk launched itself from the barren tree it was perched in and flew towards the zoo to stalk its prey. Little did it know that it too was being watched. The owl watched curiously from a few trees away as the hawk searched. And as the hawk flew off, the owl also took off to follow, its mismatched brown and blue eyes narrowing in suspicion.

Second chapter is up and re-done (a little)

Jareth: You...have started on other chapters, right? Ones that you haven't uploaded before?

Umm...

Jareth:...I take that as a no. *sulks*


	3. Feathered Friend

Chapter 3: A Sparkly Brush with Death

"Come _on_ Sarah!" Toby shouted to his sister as he ran ahead to look at the giraffes. Sarah grinned at her little brother's enthusiasm as he tried to touch the snout of one of the beasts that were eating out of a keeper's hand.

"Don't lean too far over the fence Toby," she said warningly as she approached her brother, "I don't want you falling in there." Toby merely snorted back her direction and continued his attempts to touch the large animal. The giraffe, however, was not having anything to do with that. With a snort it turned and walked to the other end of the enclosure. Toby sighed in defeat and went over to his sister's side, who was giggling slightly at his efforts.

"Let's go to the petting zoo Sarah! I wanna be able to pet the animals," he pleaded sweetly to his sister.

"The petting zoo's extra, Toby," she told her brother. She did not want to spend all her saved up money in one day.

"Aww, come on. Pleeeaaase?" he insisted. Sarah was about to say no again until she saw his face. His eyes were round and pleading and his hands were clasped together tightly. Sarah's resolve melted away as he stuck out his bottom lip.

"All right! All right, we'll go to the petting zoo," she said, defeated, "You just better be grateful to me, Toby." Toby grinned widely as they approached the ticket window to the petting zoo. The woman working the booth did not seem too cheery that day, and made it evident when she snatched the money for the tickets out of Sarah's hand and shoved two tickets their way. Sarah thanked the woman all the same, but she just grumbled and looked away. Toby, however, was too excited to notice, and ran ahead into the petting zoo.

"Can I feed the goats Sarah? Please?" he begged, tugging at his sister's red sweater. She nodded and led the way over to the goat pen. The man in charge of the goats was much happier than the woman at the ticket booth, and smiled warmly as he handed Toby a bag of goat pellets and a bottle of goat milk. Sarah watched her brother fondly as he started to feed the baby goats. He had always loved animals, and it would not have surprised her if he decided to become a vet or something when he grew up.

"Sarah? Is that you?" a voice off to her left asked. She turned to see who had called her, and smiled when she saw her parents' next door neighbor Tammy and her son Johnny. "What a coincidence to see you here!" Tammy exclaimed. She was a tiny woman; short and thin, she only reached Sarah's shoulder. She always had her mousy brown hair up in a tight bun, which made her look more uptight than she was. On the contrary, she was very outgoing and fun. Sarah had spent many days at her house when she was younger when her parents would decide to go out. She was a very nice woman, and her son was no exception. In fact, Sarah thought he was one of the sweetest little boys she had ever met.

"Hi Tammy, and hello Johnny," Sarah greeted them. Johnny smiled up at her and waved with the hand that was not in his mother's grasp. Sarah grinned at him, then said, "Are you going to feed the goats Johnny? I think Toby would love to have some help in there." Johnny nodded his head vigorously and looked up at his mother to plead with her.

"Go on Johnny, I'll be watching from out here," his mother said. She smiled as the little brunette boy scampered off into the pen. Johnny was Toby's best friend, and Sarah was sure that him showing up would make this trip to the zoo ten times better than it would have been with just her. She wasn't being much fun anyways, she thought. More than once she had caught herself thinking about the Underground, and what her friends were doing. More often though – to her annoyance – she had caught herself thinking of a certain Goblin King. Sarah furrowed her brows. Who did he think he was anyways? Invading her thoughts every five minutes with his rock star hair and his mismatched eyes and tight pants…

_Woah Sarah, _she thought to herself, _no need to go there…_ She could feel herself blushing slightly at the turn her thoughts were taking.

_It's not like you don't _like_ these thoughts though,_ the annoying voice in the back of her mind snickered mischievously. _Why, I bet if he were here right now you'd be drooling all over the place._

_Yes, well he's NOT here, and I would appreciate it if…I would stop talking with myself._ She silently cursed her thought patterns as she turned back to watch her brother. Johnny had found him and they had wasted no time in turning the feeding into a game. They raced back and forth, trying to determine who could feed the most goats. They both hung their heads sadly when the feeding time was over and they were escorted out of the pen.

"Hey Sarah? Can we go with Johnny and his mom to the food court? I'm starving!" Toby pleaded with her yet again. Knowing that she couldn't resist his face, she simply nodded and started to follow. A ring from her purse stopped Sarah short. She sighed as she pulled her company cell phone out of her bag.

"Hey Tammy?" Sarah called, "I have to take this call. Would you keep an eye on Toby for me?" Tammy nodded back at her and took both boys by the hand and led them away to the food court. Grumbling, Sarah stalked off to a remote part of the zoo so she could hear whoever was bothering her on her day off.

To her surprise, however, when she answered the phone there was no one there. "Hello?" she asked into the speaker, "Is anyone there?" Static crackled on the other line, then nothing. She huffed and put her hand on her hip. "Grace, if you're pulling a practical joke on me, it's not funny! I'm spending time with my brother today!"

Still there was silence.

Feeling a little shaken, Sarah flipped the phone closed and dropped it back into the depths of her purse. The knot in her stomach twisted painfully, her feelings of anxiety growing worse. Sarah looked around to see where she had wandered off to. A small alcove between two pens was where she had decided to answer her phone.

_Odd,_ she thought to herself, _I don't recall there being a space like this around here before…_ She gasped softly as a hawk screeched in a tree above her. It looked as if it was staring down at her. Like it was sizing her up or something. She snorted at the thought, then stopped short as she listened to the sounds around her. There was silence. No children talking, no animal calls, just eerie silence. She wondered briefly where everyone had gone.

It didn't take long for her to figure it out.

A low growl behind her made her freeze to the spot. She turned slowly to find a large lioness glaring at her. Apparently the door to the lion pen had not been secured, letting all of the lions in the zoo free to roam the grounds. In a matter of seconds two more lionesses had emerged from the door at the back of the alcove, all staring hungrily at Sarah. Right then Sarah wished she hadn't even given her phone a passing thought, and had just gone with Tammy and Johnny and Toby to the food court.

The lionesses began to slowly stalk toward her, all growling and breathing heavily. Sarah took a step backward. Her fatal mistake. She tripped on some stones on the walkway, sending her plummeting to the ground. The lions saw this as their chance and charged towards her. Sarah's legs grew minds of their own, and quickly righted her and started running. She looked around frantically; trying to get the attention of someone, ANYone, but there was no one around. It seemed that everyone in the zoo had left, including the staff. Sarah let out a panicked sob as she heard the lionesses closing in on her.

"Please, someone SAVE ME!" She screamed to the empty park, tears now streaming down her cheeks. She looked around for a tree to climb up, but most of them were too small, and the others did not have branches low enough to grab hold of. Spotting an alley between a few pens, Sarah quickly changed course and ran down it, hoping to find a way out of the park and away from the hungry lions.

Fate seemed to be laughing in her face that day.

She let out a strangled cry as she found the alley led to a dead end. Her breath came in ragged gasps as she turned to find the three lionesses blocking her only escape. The middle lioness started stalking deliberately towards her, a low growl escaping her lips. Sarah stared wide-eyed at the hungry predator. It could have been her fear-addled brain playing tricks on her, but it seemed the lion's eyes were a strange shade of purple. The beast prowled closer, taking her time for she knew her prey had nowhere to run. The buildup to her demise made tears leak out of Sarah's eyes.

"I wish someone would SAVE ME!" she cried helplessly as the lioness lunged towards her, claws sharp and ready to tear into Sarah's flesh. She threw her arms over her face and closed her eyes, waiting for the end.

But it didn't end…

Why didn't it end?

She opened one eye a crack to find the lionesses had become distracted by something flying high above them. The fluffy thing swooped in amongst the furious lionesses, its talons clawing at anything that came into close range. Sarah watched dumbfounded as the tiny attacker drove off the three giant predators, giving the slowest lion's tail a parting nip with its beak. The beasts retreated, seemingly melting into the surroundings.

Sarah turned her attention back to her little rescuer. It was perched in an oak tree above her head, staring down at her. Without warning, the owl lifted its wings, and it too disappeared into the cold November sky.

Fat snowflakes started to fall as Sarah shakily made her way to the food court. Everyone seemed to have returned, just as if they had never even left. She found Tammy and the boys and sat down to lunch with them. Not one word about the lion break out was said. Sarah, however, hardly noticed. There was something about that owl that was familiar. But it couldn't have been.

No owl had two different colored eyes.

Dun, dun, DUUUUUUUN. Sarah can deny it all she wants, but she knows who it iiiiis.

Jareth: What, no snog-fest yet? I am hurt deeply.

Oh shush, Your Highness. We're only 3 chapters into the story!

Jareth:... *Sulk Part II*


End file.
